By Beth Treffeisen
To celebrate the start of spring, the healthy fast-casual restaurant Sweetgreen has collaborated with Boston’s well-known chef Ken Oringer, to create a limited-time only bowl called the Toro.
The bowl debuted this past April 4, during a party at the Sweetgreen located in the Ink Block in the South End.
Even before the doors opened to the public, a line filled with hungry people stretched down Harrison Avenue in anticipation of getting their hands on the new Toro Bowl.
“Tonight is about celebrating and our collaboration with Oringer,” said Jonathon Neman the co-founder and CEO. “It’s also a way to connect to the community and invite them in.”
The celebration included Spanish Tapas, DIY flower bouquets, music from a live DJ, and dessert from Flour bakery.
Neman said by having Chef Oringer come in, it speaks directly towards Sweetgreen’s name with the story telling, healthy food, and building a community that connects people to real food.
Nicolas Jammet, co-founder of Sweetgreen said, “As fans of Boston classic Toro and his new location Little Donkey, we wanted to bring a taste of Chef Ken Oringer’s innovative, Tapas-style cuisine to Sweetgreen. The Toro Bowl combines savory ingredients into a roasted, spicy, craveable bowl that’s perfect for lunch or dinner.”
The Toro Bowl is inspired by the Spanish flavor combinations that Oringer is known for. It contains quinoa, hot chickpeas, kale, roasted potatoes, roasted corn, tomatoes and jalapenos, local radishes, basil, feta, and a little bit of lemon squeeze.
“As a personal fan, I’m thrilled to partner with Sweetgreen to bring this bowl to Boston,” said Chef Ken Oringer. “Much like we do at Little Donkey, Toro and Coppa, the idea was to bring together unexpected flavors into one cohesive dish. I hope everyone has a change to give it a try this spring!”
Three guys, Nicolas Jammet, Jonathon Neman and Nathaniel Ru, founded Sweetgreen in 2007. Since then it has grown into a national brand with locations from coast to coast sporting about 3,500 employees.
The mission of the company is to connect people to real food by making delicious, healthy food in a way that makes it fun and approachable.
Another way Sweetgreen connects its customers to real food is through its food collaborations with public figures.
Previous collaborations include “Beets Don’t Kale My Vive” with Grammy Award Winner Kendrick Lamar and David Chang’s naturally fermented hozon dressing in New York.
“We’ve been doing collaborations for a little while now and we like getting local connections with a fresh ideas that believe in our brand and like what we do,” said Neman.
The Toro Bowl will be available at all ten Boston Sweetgreen locations through the end of May for $8.85.